Under the IFAB Laws of the Game, delaying the restart of play is a cautionable offence: a player who excessively delays the restart must be cautioned, and the referee makes allowance in each half for time lost through time-wasting.
What counts as delaying the restart
Ways of delaying the restart include the following, and the list is not closed.
- Appearing to take a throw-in and then suddenly leaving it for a team-mate.
- Delaying leaving the field of play when being substituted.
- Excessively delaying a restart.
- Kicking or carrying the ball away, or provoking a confrontation by deliberately touching the ball, after the referee has stopped play.
- Taking a free kick from the wrong position to force a retake.
Throw-ins, goal kicks and substitutions also have their own time limits. Running over one of those limits does not on its own bring a caution; a caution follows if the player then excessively delays the restart.
Who is punished
Here is how disciplinary action is applied for delaying the restart.
| Who | Sanction |
|---|---|
| A player who excessively delays the restart | Caution |
| A substitute or substituted player | Caution |
| A team official delaying their own team's restart | Caution |
| A team official delaying the opposing team's restart | Sending-off |
The rule reaches beyond the player on the field. A substitute or a substituted player is also cautioned for delaying the restart of play.
For a team official, the sanction depends on whose restart is delayed. If they delay their own team's restart, the sanction is a caution. If they delay the opposing team's restart, the sanction is a sending-off. Examples of delaying the opposing team's restart include holding onto the ball, kicking it away and obstructing a player's movement.
When two cautionable offences happen close together
Separate cautionable offences should lead to separate cautions, even when they happen close together. For example, a defender makes a reckless challenge and then, before the disciplinary sanction procedure has started, kicks the ball away while an opponent prepares a quick free kick.
That sequence brings one caution for the challenge and another for delaying the restart. The defender is therefore sent off.
How lost time is handled
The referee makes allowance in each half for all playing time lost in that half through time-wasting. That sits alongside any card shown for the delay itself.
So two things can follow: a caution or sending-off for the delay itself, and an allowance for the lost time at the end of the half.
FAQ
Is time-wasting a yellow card?
Not always. A player who excessively delays the restart of play must be cautioned, and a substitute or substituted player is cautioned for delaying the restart. A team official is cautioned for delaying their own team's restart but sent off for delaying the opposing team's.
What happens if a player kicks the ball away after the whistle?
If the referee has stopped play and a player kicks or carries the ball away, the referee must caution the player if that action excessively delays the restart of play. Provoking a confrontation by deliberately touching the ball after the referee has stopped play is another way of delaying the restart.
Can a player be booked for leaving the pitch slowly when substituted?
Only if it excessively delays the restart of play. Delaying leaving the field when being substituted is one of the ways of excessively delaying the restart that the referee must caution, but leaving slowly does not bring a caution on its own.
Is time added on for time-wasting?
Yes. The referee makes allowance in each half for time lost in that half through time-wasting.
That added time does not replace disciplinary action. A caution for the delay and added time for the time lost can both follow from the same phase of play.